Team Notes: Clarkson Hosts Harvard and Dartmouth in Final Homes Games of 2011

Playing its final games at Cheel Arena during the 2011 portion of the schedule this weekend, the Clarkson University Hockey team will look to use its home-ice advantage to get back on the winning track. Guided by first-year head coach Casey Jones and assistant coaches Phil Roy ’00 and Andy Jones, the Golden Knights host Harvard on Friday and Dartmouth on Saturday. Both games begin at 7:00 p.m.

Led by senior captain Jake Morley (Ogdensburg, NY) and assistant captains, grad student Nick Tremblay (Candiac, QUE) and sophomore Ben Sexton (Kanata, ONT), Clarkson owns a 6-3-3 overall record and a 1-2-1 ECAC Hockeymark. The Knights, who are winless in their last three games (0-2-1), are tied for 10th in the conference standings early in the season.

The Knights are coming off a pair of losses on the road this past weekend. Missing several key forwards who were out of the lineup due to injuries, the Green and Gold struggled offensively this past Friday and Saturday, tying Quinnipiac 1-1in Hamden, CT and losing to Princeton 3-0 in New Jersey.

Behind the stellar play of senior goaltender Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONT), the Green and Gold skated to the tie at Quinnipiac. Despite an overwhelming shot advantage by the Bobcats, 44-11, Clarkson was able to gain a valuable league point on the road as Karpowich, the ECAC Goaltender of the Month for October, posted a season-high 43 saves, including 21 stops in the third period. The only Quinnipiac shot to get past Karpowich came on a Bobcat power play. Junior Adam Pawlick (Utica, NY) with his first goal of the season, scored for the Knights.

Karpowich was strong again on Saturday afternoon at Hobey Baker Rink with 28 saves, but Clarkson was unable to find the back of the net, suffering its first ever shutout to Princeton. The Tigers took a 1-0 lead just 2:03 into the game and then added a power-play tally and an empty-net goal in the third. The Knights, who had just one power-play opportunity in the contest, were outshot by the home team 31-26.

Harvard, guided by eighth-year head coach Ted Donato, returns to Potsdam for the first time after knocking the Knights out of the ECAC Hockey playoffs last March in a first-round playoff series at Cheel. After a slow start, the Crimson picked up a big victory on Saturday with a 4-2 triumph over 18th-ranked Colgate at Bright Hockey Center. On Friday, Harvard lost to Ivy League rival Cornell 4-2. The Crimson, who have played their first four games at home in Cambridge, MA, post 1-2-1 overall and ECAC Hockey records. Harvard opened its season with a 4-3 loss to Princeton and a 2-2 tie against Quinnipiac on November 4-5.

Dartmouth, which will be playing its first road game of the season when it faces off against St. Lawrence on Friday, owns a 3-3 overall record and is tied for fourth in the ECAC standings with a 2-2 conference mark. Guided by Bob Gaudet, now in his 15th year behind the Big Green bench, Dartmouth suffered a sweep at Thompson Arena in Hanover, NH this past weekend. Last Friday, the Big Green were shut out by Colgate, 4-0, and then lost a tight 3-2 game to Cornell on Saturday. Dartmouth opened the league campaign on November 4-5 with home wins over Quinnipiac (5-4) and Princeton (5-3).

The Series:
The Knights lead the series against Harvard, which began with a 2-1 Clarkson win in Lake Placid on December 28, 1935, 50-48-11. The Crimson, however, have gone 4-2-2 in the series over the past three seasons, including victories in the last three meetings. The long-time ECAC rivals split the regular-season series in 2010-11 with each posting 3-1 wins on their home ice. The Knights skated past Harvard at Cheel Arena on November 13, and the Crimson won in Cambridge on February 25. Harvard then won for the first time in Potsdam since the start of the 2004 campaign, snapping an eight-game winless stretch (0-7-1) at Cheel, by sweeping the Green and Gold in the ECAC playoffs last year, winning 2-1 and 6-4 in a first-round series on March 4-5. Clarkson is 14-8-2 against the Crimson at Cheel Arena.

Senior Louke Oakley and sophomore Allan McPherson each have scored a team-high four points (1-3) in the series against Harvard. Senior Paul Karpowich posts a .909 save percentage, a 2.68 goals against average and a 2-4-1 record through seven games against the Crimson. Senior Richie LaVeau has played one game in the rivalry, earning a 3-3 tie on a .885 save percentage.

The Golden Knights hold an overwhelming 65-23-7 advantage all-time in the rivalry against Dartmouth, which began with a 4-1 Clarkson win on February 4, 1929. The Big Green snapped a three-game unbeaten stretch (0-2-1) to the Knights with a 7-1 victory at Cheel Arena on November 12 last year, but Clarkson earned a 4-1 victory in Hanover, NH on February 26 to secure a home-ice berth in the 2011 ECAC playoffs. The Knights are 14-3-3 against Dartmouth all-time at Cheel, but the Big Green are undefeated (1-0-1) in their last two visits to Potsdam.

Julien Cayer (2-1) and Louke Oakley (1-2) have both recorded a team-high three points against Dartmouth. Paul Karpowich is 2-1-1 and has played 253 minutes against Dartmouth with a .931 save percentage and a 2.85 GAA.Richie LaVeau is 1-0-0 against Dartmouth with a .861 save percentage and a 3.75 GAA through 80 minutes.

Knight Notes:
Paul Karpowich has started the last 35 games in the Clarkson goal and 102 during his career. Karpowich, who was named ECAC Hockey/Fischer Hockey Goaltender of the Month for October, is ranked among the Top 10 in two national goaltending categories. He boasts a .941 save percentage (3rd) and a 1.81 goals against average (8th). Karpowich combined for 71 saves over the weekend on 74 shots, including a season-high 43 saves in the tie at Quinnipiac. He allowed only one even-strength goal in the weekend road series. Karpowich, who has played every second in the Clarkson goal this season, is closing in on the all-time save record at Clarkson with 2,993 through 105 games. The Knights’ all-time record is 3,375 saves by Dan Murphy in 135 games from 1994-98 … With three freshmen, one sophomore and two juniors on the blueline, Clarkson is allowing only 1.92 goals per game, seventh best in the NCAA … Freshman defenseman Sam Labrecque (Granby, QUE) is Clarkson’s leading rookie scorer and top producer from the blueline with nine points, including a team-high seven assists … Freshman defenseman Kevin Tansey (Hammond, ONT) posts a team best plus/minus with a +8 ... After scoring 34 goals through the first nine games, Clarkson has struggled offensively with just two goals over the last three contests … Two of the Knights’ leading scorers Louke Oakley (Whitby, ONT) and Ben Sexton (Kanata, ONT) have been out of the lineup with injuries … Oakley, who leads the Green and Gold with 12 points (6-6), was injured in the second period of the game against Union (11/5) and did not play this past weekend. He had at least one point in eight of his first 10 games … Sexton has not played in the past four games. He is tied for third in scoring with nine points¬ (3-6). Sexton had five points (2-3) in his last three games … Sophomore Mike Garlasco (Mahwah, NJ) has also been out of the lineup the last three games with an injury … Freshman forward Patrick Marsh (Oakville, ONT) saw his first collegiate action over the weekend and recorded two shots on goal at Princeton … Junior Adam Pawlick scored his first goal of the season with the tying score at Quinnipiac.